“I think he feels a little guilty or something, because he advised me not to do the IVF way back when I was still reeling from Brett and Belinda’s passing.”
Millie’s brows knit together. “Why would he do that?”
“Medically, he knew the odds were stacked against it ever working out. And he didn’t want to see me risk that kind of devastating grief on the heels of the enormous loss I had already suffered.”
“Yet you did it, anyway,” Millie observed softly.
“I can’t really explain it, but I had faith it would all work out. And it did. But I think he somehow feels bad because had I listened to his advice, as a physician and Brett’s friend, then I wouldn’t have the quintuplets. So he is trying to make it up to me now by being extra supportive. At least that’s my theory.” And the only one she could come up with, unless it was just pure lust driving him to spend more time with her. And given the responsibilities she had, she couldn’t really have that.
Millie waggled a teasing brow. “You certainly have been doing a lot of thinking about this man.”
“Only because I haven’t thought about a man...in forever. But the thing is, even if I wanted to get involved with someone right now, it couldn’t be him, because he’s only here for a short time and I need someone who is going to stick around.”
“I agree with you there. An absentee daddy would not work out in your situation.”
No, it wouldn’t.
“Have you spoken to him about your feelings on this subject?” Millie pressed.
“No.” Heavens, no!
“Why not?”
“Because there is no way to do that without putting him on the spot. And that, in turn, could make working together on the gift for his dad really awkward.”
“I remember Gabe when he was in high school, and Mike and I both had him in our classes. He was not just a stand-up guy, but always someone who knew his own mind, too. So if he is demonstrating an interest in you and the kids...it might be that he is more ready to settle down than you’re giving him credit for.”
“And it also might be that he thinks he is a family man, deep down, like all the rest of the Lockhart men are at heart. But the reality of the quintuplets is quite different than the romantic notion of them.”
Millie grinned. “You want him to understand that before his demonstrated interest goes any further.”
Susannah nodded. “I think that would be best.” For both of us.
“Then give him what he wants and allow him to help Mike babysit for them tomorrow morning while we do our errands.”
* * *
Gabe wasn’t sure he heard right when Susannah called him a short while later. “You want me to babysit tomorrow morning?” He hadn’t ever thought she would take him up on that offer.
Just back from a run with Cade, who seemed to be pushing too hard, he went to the fridge to get a bottle of water.
“Yes,” Susannah replied. “Millie and I are going shoe shopping.” He could hear the smile in her voice. “Naturally, I wouldn’t expect you to do it alone. Five kids is five times too many on your own. But if you can, it would be helpful to Mike, who has already offered. Otherwise...” She sounded abruptly hesitant, “I can call around and see if I can round up another babysitter.”
“No need for that. I’d be happy to help. What time do you need me?”
“How about 10:00 a.m., and then hopefully Millie and I will be back by the time the kids wake up from their afternoon naps.”
Five hours? “It takes that long to buy shoes?”
“It does if you’re a woman and you’re looking for an exact replica of something you had nearly fifty years ago.”
“Oh.”
Susannah’s voice dropped to a throaty whisper. “Please don’t say anything to him, but she’s trying to recreate her and Mike’s very first date, and it’s a little more challenging than she thought it might be. But she’s determined, and I’m going to help her.”
“Good for you.”
“So, you can help Mike tomorrow?”
“Yes. See you then.” Gabe hung up.
“That’s a pretty big smile,” Cade observed with a grin of his own.
“Susannah asked me to babysit tomorrow.”
His brother wrapped his shoulder in ice and settled on the sofa, electrolyte drink in hand. “Now I really don’t get it.”
“Up until now, I don’t think she has trusted me as far as she could throw me. So the fact she’s willing to put me to the test with her kids is a good sign.”
Cade squinted. “I thought you weren’t trying to date her.”
“I’m not.”
“Then...?”
He still had a last request to follow through on. “She and the kids don’t have a lot of people in their life who look after them, except Millie and Mike, and, of course, the other mothers in town, who are her friends.”
Cade squinted. “So, where do you come in?”
“Brett was one of my best friends.”
“Still not getting it,” his brother said.
“If the situation were reversed, if they were my biological kids and former sister-in-law, he would look in on them whenever he could.”
Cade nodded. “It still doesn’t make them your responsibility.”
While he was in Laramie, it did, Gabe thought. Although Cade was right about one thing—it was going to bother him when he went back to work overseas and was unable to check in on them the way he was now. He’d worry about them. And miss them a heck of a lot, too.
The next morning when he arrived, Mike was already there, and Millie and Susannah were champing at the bit.
Looking absolutely gorgeous in a knee-length summer skirt that showed off her legs and a lacy white sleeveless top that did equally spectacular things for her breasts, Susannah bustled about in a drift of wildflower perfume. “I fixed lunch for everyone. The sandwiches are in the fridge, along with the fruit cups. Chips and cookies are on the counter.”
“But no cookies unless we eat all our lunch,” Abigail said.
Susannah smiled. “You all be good for Mr. Gabe and Mr. Mike, you hear?”
“We will,” the kids chorused. Millie and Mike kissed. And then the ladies headed for the door.
Chaos began soon after.
The boys climbed on the furniture and refused to get down, even when Mike directed them to do so. So Gabe plucked them off and carried them out to the swing set out back, where they began playing a game called Obstacle Course. He made up the drills, and the kids followed suit. Down the slide, in the swing, around the monkey bars. On the seesaw, back up and down the slide, then onto the swing and so on.
The three girls, who had been playing inside, came out and joined in the excitement. Half an hour later, all five were spent, and it was time for lunch. Gabe herded them back inside, where Mike had their noon meal set up on the kitchen table.
Gabe noted that the older gentleman looked tired and a little sweaty, which was odd, given how cool it was indoors due to the air-conditioning. And Gabe had been the one outside supervising the little ones in the June heat.
But then, maybe that was because Mike had also picked up all the toys that had been scattered about. It was easy to see how he could have gotten a little out of breath doing that. Especially at his age. Still, Gabe had to be sure.
“You doing okay?” he asked as he lined up the kids at the powder room sink for hand washing.
“Right as rain.” Mike forced a smile. “Want some coffee? I’m going to brew a pot.”
“No, thanks. Already hit my quota this morning.”
Mike frowned. “I haven’t had any yet. Millie’s got us both on this sassafras tea regimen. She’s been trying to lose a little weight, and she read somewhere that this might help. Plus it doesn’t have any caffeine, so it’s healthier. But it’s just not w
orking for me,” he complained and went on to brew some of his favorite beverage.
And as the meal went on, and he consumed two cups of coffee, Gabe couldn’t help but note that Mike did look a little better. While the kids watched a thirty-minute video, the two men cleaned up together.
“You’re pretty good with them,” Mike observed. “You want kids one day?”
Until now, Gabe hadn’t. “Not sure,” he said finally. “Maybe.”
“If you do, don’t make the mistake Millie and I did and wait too long, because if you do that, it just might not happen.”
Gabe was still thinking about the older man’s advice when the kids went down for their naps. As soon as they were out, Mike said, “Maybe Millie’s right. We should cut out the caffeine.”
“Problem?”
“I’ve got a little reflux. Plus, I just now realized that in all the excitement, I forgot to take my cholesterol and blood pressure medication this morning. So I’m going to run across the street and take my meds now.”
Gabe noted that Mike looked pale again, and a little ragged around the edges. Like he hadn’t been sleeping well. And was that his imagination or were Mike’s legs and ankles a little swollen?
Gabe saw no reason for the older man to extend himself in the heat when he was already not feeling well. He rose. “You want me to get it for you?”
“Nah.” Mike waved him back into his seat. “I know right where it is. It’ll only take me a minute. Unless...” Mike flashed a teasing grin, more typical of his usual jovial nature. “You’re afraid to be here alone with the kids?”
Yet another test? “Of course not,” Gabe said.
“Okay.” Mike clapped him on the shoulder. “I’ll be right back.”
Except Mike didn’t come right back. And he had left his phone on the kitchen counter, so Gabe had no way to text him to see what the delay was. Not sure whether or not the couple had a landline or not—a lot of older people still did—Gabe looked that up on his phone. Found it and dialed. It rang and rang. And was still ringing when Susannah and Millie walked in, their arms laden with shopping bags. He’d never been so glad to see two women in his life.
Susannah took one look at Gabe’s face. “What’s up?”
“Mike went over to the house to take his meds about fifteen minutes ago, and he hasn’t returned. I was calling him to see what was taking so long.”
Millie scoffed. “That man! He can never find anything in the medicine chest, even when it’s right in front of him. I’ll be right back.” She headed across the street.
“Is everything okay?” Susannah turned back to Gabe, tipping her face up to his.
He told himself he was overreacting. Probably because he hadn’t had anyone to diagnose in a couple of weeks now.
Before he had a chance to answer, Susannah’s cell went off. As she listened to the caller, her face turned white.
“Oh my God, Gabe! Millie thinks Mike might be having a heart attack!”
Chapter Eight
“Good news,” Dr. Gavin Monroe told everyone gathered around Mike’s hospital bed. Millie was on one side, Gabe and Susannah the other.
“Mike did not have a heart attack. His arrhythmia was caused by a combination of low potassium and high blood pressure.”
“So does that mean he gets to go home?” Millie asked.
“Actually, we’re going to keep him overnight. We want to run a few more tests on his heart, to make sure that there’s no underlying cardiac problem. So we’re going to be putting him in the cardiac care unit, but from what we see right now, we fully expect him to be able to go home by noon tomorrow.” The ER doc gave them a reassuring smile. “We just want to make sure we cover all the bases before we release him, and we will also be sending in a dietitian to make sure that you all know how to keep his potassium levels up in the future.”
Millie’s smile quavered. Briefly, she looked as upset as she had when the EMTs had come to transfer Mike to the hospital by ambulance. “Will I be able to stay with him?”
Kindly, Gavin reassured, “As long as you want.”
Millie breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Dr. Monroe.”
Gavin smiled. “The team will be in to transfer you upstairs in a few minutes.” He slipped out.
Millie turned to Gabe and Susannah. “Thank you for being here. But you all need to go home and take care of the quintuplets.”
Mike nodded. Since receiving the IV fluids and potassium, his color and demeanor had returned to normal. “We’ve got this,” he said appreciatively.
Sensing the couple wanted a few minutes alone, Susannah moved to hug and kiss them both. “Let us know if you need anything.” She held up her cell phone. “I’m only a text away.”
Together, she and Gabe walked out of the ER. The two had followed behind the ambulance in his truck. “You doing okay?” He surveyed her tenderly.
He looked so strong and solid, so at ease in the medical setting, it was all she could do not to throw herself in his arms. “Why?”
“You look a little shaky.”
Susannah’s knees wobbled. Her need for comforting grew. She forced a watery smile. “I think I am.”
He moved closer, his expression becoming all the more protective. “Low blood sugar?”
Susannah swallowed around the sudden parched feeling in her throat. “Maybe.” She hadn’t had anything to eat or drink since lunchtime.
Taking charge, he steered her into the hospital coffee shop off the lobby. “Let’s get a drink and sit down a minute. Make a plan.”
After the traumatic morning they’d all had, Susannah was happy to lean on him. She drew an enervated breath. “Sounds good.”
They got two mango smoothies, a snack bag of pretzels for him and a crispy cereal and mixed nut snack for her. Because the courtyard was shady that time of day, and no one else was out there, they took their goodies out there and sat down on a bench before the fountain in the center.
They sat side by side, their bodies touching. “It was quite an afternoon.”
When she had trouble opening her bag, he reached over to help her, then handed it back. “Amazing that the kids didn’t wake up when the ambulance was across the street.”
She nodded, already beginning to feel better. “They’re all sound sleepers—have been since they were born.”
He offered her one of his pretzels and took a bite of her snack mixture, too. “It’s also amazing you were able to get someone to watch them while they slept, and then Mitzy and Chase McCabe to take them after that.”
“The Laramie Multiples Club is fantastic.” As was Gabe. She didn’t know how she would have made it through the calamity without his help. Certainly, it would have been harder. “Speaking of which—” Susannah sighed, her own responsibilities coming to the fore once again “—I really should call and check on the kids. Let Mitzy and Chase know I can come and get them at any time. In fact,” she said, already regretting her time alone with Gabe would soon come to an end, “I’ll FaceTime her in case the kids need to see me to be reassured.”
Gabe smiled. “Good idea.”
Susannah took another long, thirsty sip of her smoothie, then set it down and made the call. Mitzy picked up on the third ring. “How are things?” the social worker and mother of quadruplet boys asked immediately.
Briefly, Susannah explained and found the recounting of Mike’s attack almost as debilitating as the event itself. “So,” she said, her voice trembling slightly with the pent-up emotion of the day, “we can come over now...”
“No, you don’t.” Mitzy’s face was etched with concern. “The quintuplets are fine right where they are, and they will be the rest of the evening.” Firmly, she continued, “You, on the other hand, are not.”
“I am.”
Mitzy looked past Susannah at Gabe. “You’re not. And I’m sure Gabe will second
me on this.” Sternly, she reiterated, “You can’t see them like this, Susannah. You need to get hold of yourself, have a glass of wine and chill out. Because if the kids see you like this, they are going to know something is up. And they don’t need that.”
Beside her, Gabe nodded his agreement.
Susannah capitulated with a sigh. “Okay. You’re right...” She did need to get herself together.
“But in the meantime,” Mitzy said, “to reassure you that everything is okay, I’m going to give you a glimpse of what is going on right now.”
The social worker stepped outside her home and turned toward the backyard. Her husband, Chase McCabe, was standing on the patio, grilling hot dogs. The picnic table was set for the evening meal. All nine of the kids—their quadruplet boys and Susannah’s quintuplets—were playing a spirited game of Father May I with Chase. They looked incredibly happy and excited to be just where they were.
“See?” Mitzy reiterated. “They’re fine. And after dinner, we’re going to have story time and then catch fireflies when it gets dark. So, you get here by nine, and then I promise they will all be so exhausted they will go right to sleep.”
Susannah sagged in relief. “Thank you, Mitzy. You’re a lifesaver.”
The other woman waved off the gratitude. “Oh, come on, you’ve done the same for me and all the other moms lots of times. It’s what we’re here for, right?”
“Right.”
After a few parting words, Susannah ended the call. And then, to her horror, promptly burst into tears.
* * *
Gabe did the only thing he could do. He gathered Susannah in his arms and hugged her close. “Hey, darlin’,” he said in her ear. “What’s this all about?” It couldn’t be over Mike, since he was fine.
Tears continuing to spill from her eyes, she pushed away from him and let out a shuddering breath. Her chest rose and fell with each agitated exhalation. “Just...everything.” She gestured helplessly.
“Are you worried about the kids?” Given what Mitzy had showed her, she shouldn’t be.
His Plan for the Quintuplets Page 10
